Queens Magazine

Daniel G. Lugo recalls his first impression of the Queens University campus with a single word: “Wow.” Last year Lugo was in Charlotte for the semifinal round of interviews with various candidates to replace outgoing president Pamela Davies. The interviews were held in a downtown hotel for confidentiality’s sake, but Lugo ventured over to the Queens campus on his own to look around on a quiet Sunday afternoon. “Queens is an incredibly gorgeous place,” he says. “It was eye-opening to see just what a gem it is. From my relatively experienced higher-education perspective, it is the type of place where any student would aspire to go, and thrive.” Read more on page 14.

Is it really necessary for a finance major to learn the chemistry behind a Polaroid or how to make a camera out of an old Cheez-It box? If you ask Queens student Hendrik Faber ’21, the answer is yes. Last fall, Faber enrolled in a Queens Learning Community (QLC) called The Science of Art and Images, which taught the chemistry involved in photography and how to apply that to produce images. How exactly does that help him in his finance classes? Read more on page 20.

Sarah Griffith likes to feel uncomfortable. The associate professor of history wants her Queens students to feel that discomfort, too. It’s in that space, she says, where the real magic of learning happens. “As a teacher, I think it’s good to disturb comfortable spaces,” she says. “It’s really fun to encourage students by saying, ‘This semester, we’re going to get out of our comfort zones, and we’re going to do it together, and you might be a little afraid at first.’” Read more on page 27.